Massive year for Matahari Indonesia

Indonesian retail giant Matahari Putra Prima has reported a 58.2 per cent increase in operating profit on record sales, up 14.1 per cent in 2014.

The hypermarket, grocery and health and beauty specialist achieved total sales of 13.59 trillion rupiah (US$1.047 billion) and a net profit of 554 billion (US$42.66 million).

Matahari operated 267 stores – 107 Hypermarkets, 102 Boston health and beauty stores and 58 Foodmarts – at the end of the year in 67 cities across the nation. It has since opened three more hypermarkets.

During 2014, the company opened 42 new stores, including 24 Foodmarts, as it continued an aggressive expansion strategy.

CEO Noel Trinder, who rejoined the company as CEO in April last year, said the result reflected a focus on core business, resulting in expanded margins and improved store productivity.

“On assuming my role as the CEO, it was clear that MPPA was ready for a new growth strategy after 10 years of sustained growth. The past decade created a business with sustained sales and profit growth, driven by new store expansion, however the runway for future expansion hinged on institutionalisation and regeneration,” said Tinder in a statement.

“One of the cornerstones of the regeneration was the creation and introduction of the seventh generation Hypermarket, or G7, which showcased a completely renovated Hypermarket in Cyberpark, North Lippo Karawaci, Tangerang, in December 2014. This new G7 format is unique in Indonesia with its focus on enhancing the overall customer experience as a world class hypermarket that has visual appeal, expanded assortment, well thought out lifestyle adjacencies and higher operating standards.

“This can be seen by the continued positive customer acceptance which has resulted in significantly higher basket size and customer traffic,” Trinder said.

“Another key area addressed was to strengthen the organisation structure through realignment and investing in new human capabilities. This process was initiated in the second semester of 2014 and will continue into 2015.

“Realigning the organisation enables us to better serve the customer while institutionalising many processes, enabling MPPA to strive to new levels in the coming years.”